Cost of living is high. Should Quebec's budget give out cash to help?

Things haven't been easy at the Union United Church's food bank.

Charlene Hunte, who runs the bank in Montreal's Little Burgundy neighbourhood, said demand for groceries is still high, but it's becoming harder and harder to fill the shelves. Everything is more expensive than it used to be — from the food they buy to the gas they have to use to go get it.

A program that delivered groceries to seniors and others confined to their homes was recently cancelled, because the food bank couldn't afford to run it anymore.

"It was just too much for us," Hunte said. "A lot of us were taking money out of our own pocket." 

Hunte, who is retired and on a fixed income, said she's spent at least $1,000 of her own money to keep the bank going. Others, she said, have spent four or five times more than that.

"It's very hard," Hunte lamented. "But we have no choice but to make sure that the next week, the clients get their food, because they're depending on it."

When she looks at the price of groceries and gas, Hunte said it's "unreal what's happening."

With the Quebec budget set to be released Tuesday, she said she knows what she's hoping for.

"We should get a tax break or something. It just affects everybody," she said. "We pay a lot of taxes in Quebec, and I don't see where my money's gone." 

With inflation on the increase and Quebecers tightening their belts, many people have been calling on the government to intervene. Suggestions include freezing Hydro-Québec rates or reducing the provincial gas tax. 

But those who watch the province's economy said the government should think twice before handing out cheques.

Moshe Lander, a senior lecturer in economics at Concordia University, said the Quebec government doesn't have much power to control inflation. The best it can do is try to mitigate its effects on the population.

"[The government] can provide income support to those that are most affected," such as people in low-income households or on a fixed income, said Lander. 

"Usually, the items that go up most — the gasoline, rent — are, for low-income people, the vast majority of their budget."